A representative of H-E-B recently talked about the company's plans to build a new, larger store in Kenedy.

KENEDY– The rumors that HEB has been planning to build a new store in Kenedy have been circulating all over Karnes County for years ever since the company purchased a piece of land at the corner of U.S Highway 181 and State Highway 72 in Kenedy.

Last week, however, construction netting went up around the perimeter of the property, and heavy equipment soon appeared and began moving dirt at the site for what appears to be construction of some kind.

When asked about all the activity at the site located just west of U.S. Highway 181, Kenedy HEB Store Director Jimmy Sordia said that it is his understanding that HEB has plans to build a new store at the location.

Sordia didn't have many details to share beyond that, and when The Karnes Countywide reached out to HEB's corporate offices earlier this month, HEB Public Affairs Specialist Alyssa Trotman said she was unable to confirm or deny that the company has any plans to build a new store in Kenedy.

“The plan is to have a new HEB,” Sordia said, according to information he had heard within the company.

Sordia said that it typically takes six to seven months to build a new HEB store once the construction on the actual building is underway.

When asked if he thought the new store would be larger than the one currently operating in Kenedy, Sordia said, “I hope so. They don't do anything small anymore.”

Key votes by local officials on Jan. 14 cleared the way for H-E-B's announcement of their plans to build a new, larger store in Kenedy.

Officially, H-E-B has still not announced their plans to build a new store but H-E-B Real Estate Manager Mary Rohrer shared some details about the company's plans during three local meetings Tuesday.

Rohrer said the company will build a convenience store and gas station at the site near the intersection of U.S. Highway 181 and State Highway 72 in Kenedy, as well as a new 40,000 square-foot H-E-B store.

The new store will be more than three times the size of the store currently in operation in Kenedy, but smaller than the H-E-B Stores in Floresville and Beeville.

The new store will feature a deli, an eatery, a drive-through pharmacy and many other features that customers are used to seeing at larger H-E-B stores.